Possible tornado in northern B.C. leaves hundreds without power for 5 days

More than 1,000 households in northern B.C. have been without power for five days, after strong winds — and a possible tornado — ripped through the area last week. 

On Wednesday evening, wind gusts of more than 100 km/h, along with a significant amount of lightning, hit the Peace region, according to Environment Canada. 

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist said a powerful atmospheric system started above the wildfires in the Interior last week, but he says he isn't yet sure whether a tornado was responsible for the damage in the Peace region.

"We're not 100 per cent sure if it's straight-line winds or a tornado. It's possible it could be a tornado,'' he said, noting confirmation could take another week. 

The wind and lightning knocked down hundreds of utility poles, initially leaving about 6,000 households without power in communities including Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Hudson's Hope and Chetwynd, BC Hydro said. 

On Sunday, BC Hydro reported that crews had restored power to about 80 per cent of those who had lost it. 

But hundreds, including people living in Charlie Lake, about nine kilometres northwest of Fort St. John, were still without electricity as of Monday. 

"We have absolutely no running water because our pumps run on electricity, so we can't bathe our children, we can't wash our hands, we can't even water our gardens or water our animals," Mandy Crawford said.

She added that her community has to take care of dozens of children and elderly people with special needs. 

Crawford's neighbour Jenna Felske says no access to water and electricity not only means she has to clean her baby with hand sanitizer and baby wipes — it also means more expenditure and less income for her family.

"We're spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on takeout food and trying to run the generators. The diesel fuel is not cheap.

"I personally have lost three days worth of wages now, because I work from home and I need the Internet and I need power to run my computer and my printer … If I don't work, I don't get paid," Felske said.

Felske says some of her neighbours have it even worse: one house lost its roof to the strong winds. 

BC Hydro told CBC it had mobilized crews from neighbouring communities such Mackenzie and Fort Nelson, as well as additional crews from Prince George, Terrace and the Lower Mainland to support power restoration efforts.

Crawford questions why BC Hydro doesn't request help from other provinces to expedite the power restoration.

"We are rural and they have not called anybody else [from other provinces] in to help us," Crawford said. "We are essentially living in tents because our homes have no amenities whatsoever." 

The Crown corporation also said they would normally call on crews from B.C.'s southern Interior for support, but decided against it this time because of the wildfires happening in the region. 

Felske says she can't turn on the lights in her house, but she doesn't want to light candles because of fire concern.

"It was 39 C here. The day before that was 38 C," she said. "It was crazy, crazy heat."

Peace River Regional District chairperson Brad Sperling says the strong winds have left widespread damage and BC Hydro has done great work to resume electricity supply.

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